Shakespeare

Yesterday was a literary milestone, albeit one overshadowed by the death of Prince, truly another artist and musical genius of his.  We must at this point, say, with no pun meant, "Good Night, Sweet Prince; Flights of Angels sing thee to they Rest."

Shakespeare was allegedly born, and did die, on April 23d.  He shares dates of birth and death with Miguel de Cervantes, author of "Don Quixote de la Mancha" and "La Gitanilla."  Some critics feel the greatest works of literature in the world are The Bible,  Cervantes' works, and Shakespeare's works, not necessarily in that order. James Joyce also died on April 23d, but in 1941.  He shares birth dates and death dates with V. Woolf, 1882-1941. 

I have had the privilege of teaching Shakespeare, and of co-authoring a published article about him, for several years.  I've amassed quite a library of my own materials on the immortal bard.  I have a lot of memorabilia, and I have twice been to the Stratford, Ontario Royal Shakespeare Festival. 

Yet, I am the first to say, no one can know all there is to know about him.  Still, I will say that 10,000 years from now, all of our other literature may be forgotten, but people will still be teaching Shakespeare.  He is enduring, he is adaptable.  His truths are universal.   He wrote of other cultures, of other worlds, of people of color, long before multicultural studies were born. His women are astounding individuals, brave and strong, and assertive.  He addresses major issues of the day, even to criticizing monarchs, as in Richard II,  The Henry Plays, and the most dangerous of all, Macbeth.
Most of what I learned about teaching I learned from him, and from my Shakespeare professor.

If I could only take one book with me on  a desert island, it would be The Complete Works of Shakespeare.

Happy Birthday, indeed.